Kidnapped policeman found shot dead north of Ramadi

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A kidnapped policeman was found shot dead north of Ramadi city on Sunday, a security source told SNG website.

“The police officer, who was kidnapped by an armed group while going out of his house 10 days ago, was found shot dead Sunday at Albu Aitha region north of Ramadi city,” the source said.

Police forces have launched a wide-scale manhunt to arrest perpetrators of the shooting incident, the source said, adding that the body of the slain policeman was carried to the forensic medicine department.

Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has resulted in over 3 million internally displaced persons across Iraq and left more than 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

In December 2015, Iraq announced the liberation of Ramadi city from Islamic State following a fierce battle between Iraqi troops and IS militants.

The liberation of Ramadi was seen as a major win for the Iraqi government against IS militants, who have taken over large swathes of the country, as well as parts of Syria.

Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in Iraq earlier in November with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.